Loudwater
by MorierBlackleaf
Summary: Estel meets Legolas for the first time, and having been jokingly told by the twins that Wood-Elves use young humans for their magic, madness ensues until Estel ends up being saved by Legolas from drowning in the Bruinen. AU
1. Chapter 1

_AN: This story is the first part in a (thus far) four part series. The second part is already posted here and is called "Warm Comfort." This story will be much longer than "Warm Comfort." You do not have to read the second, third, and/or fourth parts to enjoy this story, however, as it can be read as a stand-alone story. However, if you are interested in the rest of the series (which takes place after this tale), then check my author's page for more information._

_To be clear, this story is AU._

* * *

The human child ran as fast as his considerably shorter legs would take him, his excitement overshadowing his trepidation to meet his foster brothers' friend. Although he had heard Elladan and Elrohir speak often of the Prince of Eryn Galen, Estel had yet to meet him. Being only ten years old and having lived in The Last Homely House since he was two, the eight years of his having been fostered by Elrond seemed a long time to Estel, but to the twins the time had been terribly short. They had not seen Legolas in over fifteen years – a short wait for an Elf but still longer a wait than normal for the three friends to go without visiting each other. They were just as eager to greet the Prince; while their long legs only strode to the courtyard, Estel had trouble keeping up even though he was nearly running. He was constantly in awe of his much older brothers and sought to be like them in all ways. Wherever they went, the Adan was sure to be close behind if he was allowed and often he followed them even if he was not allowed.

Having lived in Imladris for as long as he could remember, Estel knew plenty about Elves. After the death of the Adan's father, who was little more than a name to Estel, the grieving Lady Gilraen had despaired of raising her only child and knew that she could not keep him safe, so had left him in the care of Lord Elrond and then returned to her people. To Estel, his mother was also little more than a name. His earliest memories were not of his true parents, but of the Elf whom he considered his father – Lord Elrond – and of the two identical Noldor whom he loved as his brothers – Elladan and Elrohir.

Estel was currently the only human living in the house, although occasionally a human merchant would pass through for trade. Once even, one of the Dúnedain came to the valley with an injury from fighting Orcs. Estel had not been allowed to see the Ranger but he had begged the story from the twins of how the Ranger had been injured. Yet, other than those few visitors, Estel had yet to meet anyone outside his foster father's household or the occasional messenger from Lothlórien. For the occupants of Rivendell, Prince Legolas' coming was a common occurrence. To Estel, it was the most exciting event yet to have happened to him.

Elrohir and Elladan were already in the courtyard by the time that Estel finally made it. The young human hitched his breeches up and straightened his tunic, huffing with exertion as he slowed upon his approach to the twins. Thus far, the Wood-Elves had yet to come down the winding path that led from the foothill above down into the narrow valley in which Rivendell sat. He could only just make out the four mounted beings at the start of the steep, rocky path.

"Look who finally showed," Elladan ribbed Estel, tousling the Adan's curly hair with unconcealed affection. In Estel's experience with the Elves of Imladris, most were reserved to the point of being boring. Not his twin brothers, though.

"He can't help it if his legs are short!" Elrohir defended the Adan with a merry laugh.

Giving the two Noldor a grin, Estel climbed onto the balustrade of the courtyard's steps with enthusiastic, childish energy, and perched upon it to wait. "One day," he assured them, "my legs will be long and I will outrun you both!"

His foster brothers hadn't the heart to tell the human that he wasn't ever likely to be able to outrun them. Estel had not yet learnt the limitations of being a Man instead of an Elf. So instead, the younger twin teased, "Yes, when Elladan is old and grey, you might finally be able to outrun him."

Elladan snickered at this although the human child wasn't sure what was funny. Although no fool, Estel had not quite grasped the strange humor that his foster brothers shared. The identical brothers were an odd pair, often confusing others – including Estel – for their own amusement. They were well-loved in Imladris, though, and whereas the pranks and jokes they told and pulled would have caused strife had they been anyone else, the population of the valley took the twins in stride for the pair of brothers always meant well, were valorous and helpful, shared their father's skill in healing and warcraft, and despite their sometimes juvenile actions, both had sharp minds and wise counsel for anyone who asked it of them.

"You ought be careful, Estel," Elrohir said in a hushed tone. Both twins looked suddenly serious as they drew close to where the human sat on the balustrade. "Wood-Elves are much different than the Eldar who live here in the valley."

"Yes," Elladan continued, picking up his twin's narrative as if he knew just what falsehood his brother had cooked up. Perhaps he didn't know what fib Elrohir intended to tell the Adan, but he could see that his identical brother was brewing mischief. Few in years, Estel had yet to learn how to discern when his foster brothers were being mendacious for the purpose of their strange fun and so listened raptly when Elladan told him, "The Silvan of the Greenwood are not like the Noldor who you live among now, nor are they the same as our mother's people in Lothlórien."

The young human turned his gaze back to the slow descent of the Elves in question, who were still making their way single file down the narrow walkway to the valley. There were others means of getting into the hidden vale, but Estel supposed that this one must have been closest to from where the Silvan had come. To his recollection, he had never been outside the valley; according to his foster Ada, it would be a few years yet before he would get the chance. "But he is your friend, you said. He's not dangerous?"

"Yes, yes," Elrohir told Estel, "he is our friend, but we are Elves, as well, so we have nothing to fear. Legolas is the most dangerous out of all his kin, for he is not only a Wood-Elf but their Prince." The younger of the twins came to stand just beside the young Adan, speaking to him as if the Wood-Elves – who had just now reached the bottom of the trail and would soon begin to cross the bridge that joined the southern bank of the Bruinen to the northern bank where they waited – might overhear their conversation. "You must be careful," Elrohir said in a hush, "because the royalty of the Silvan of the Greenwood use strange magic, and to perform this magic, they must make use of young human boys."

"Elrohir," the elder twin admonished with a wry smile, "don't tell him stories like that. You'll give him nightmares!"

The younger twin rolled his eyes at his elder brother but held his hands up in acquiescence, saying, "Fine, fine. We will let him learn on his own, then."

Elladan laughed boisterously at his brother and then at Estel's worried frown. To appease the young human, he told the human, "Don't worry. Wood-Elves don't use human children for their magic." Ruffling the Adan's hair affectionately, as the twins were wont to do and did as often as Estel was within reach, he added in a whisper, "Not all of them, anyway. Just pieces."

At this, Elrohir laughed just as loudly as his brother had before and clapped Estel on the back, causing the Adan to tip over and then roll off the balustrade on which he had been sitting. Estel landed deftly on his feet while thinking, _I can never tell when they are joking or being serious! _

Finally, the Silvan were across the bridge and coming into the courtyard, their horses blowing great gusts of air through their wide nostrils from the arduous journey, their riders covered in dust and mud and smelling of horseflesh. Although each of the Elves was dressed differently, they all wore similar colors – dark fir green tunics, fawn and bark colored, doeskin breeches, and undershirts of varying lighter shades. While two had light hair with similar shades of blue eyes, the other two had hair the color of well-steeped tea and their eyes were as dark brown as the mud that covered their boots. None of them was wearing armor except bracers but they all had short, undecorated bows upon their equally unornamented quivers. Two wore long swords at their waists, one had a set of long knives attached to his quiver, and the last had both a long sword and a set of knives. They were well-armed but not well-armored, it seemed to the young Adan – at least, not in the manner that he had seen his foster father's people dress when riding out to hunt Orc or make long journeys through treacherous lands.

_With their brown legs and green arms, they look like trees, _Estel thought, and then realized that this was probably the exact reason that they dressed so, for they would blend in well in the forest dressed as they were. He knew only a little of the Silvan but from what he had been told, the Wood-Elves were more likely to hunt and battle from the trees than from the ground, so heavy, cumbersome armor only hindered them.

All Elves were fair to the human, but the fairest amongst the Silvan horsed before him and maybe the fairest male Elf that he'd ever seen was the tall, lithe Wood-Elf who had hair the color of butter, skin the color of cream, and teeth as white as milk. His sky blue eyes were full of liveliness when he brought his mare to a halt only a few feet in front of the Noldorin twins and their human foster brother. While the other Wood-Elves, who Estel guessed must be the Prince's sentries, were bowing where they sat upon their horses in deference to the twin sons of the Lord of the Last Homely House, one of the Wood-Elves did not act decorously but dismounted before his mare had even stopped. _I was right. Surely he is the Prince. _Hopping off his steed with a wide smile upon his face, this Elf's doeskin booted feet had barely touched the ground before he was moving towards Elladan and Elrohir, his arms raised in greeting. Together, the two Noldorin brothers soon had the Wood-Elf Prince squished between them in a tight hug.

"Greenleaf!" they said to the Silvan in tandem. Still with Legolas and Elrohir mishmashed in his arms and he in their arms, Elladan went on to receive the other Wood-Elves, calling one of them by name in saying, "Off your horse already, Kalin – you and your sentries. You know you are welcome here in our father's house."

With great interest, the Adan watched as the other of the fair-haired Silvan smiled and leapt down from his own horse. "Lord Elrond has our thanks, Lord Elladan, as do you."

The other two Silvan hopped down as well and within a few moments, stable hands appeared to lead away the tired horses. The two dark haired sentries went on their way without being told by their Prince where to go; but then, they likely knew just where they'd be staying in the Last Homely House, as often as they came to visit with their Prince. Estel stayed near to the stair's balustrade where he could watch what was happening without being in the way. He was often in the way, it seemed. While the other two sentries had left, the one named Kalin remained behind, however, and with a puzzled look on his face came to where Estel was lurking behind one of the posts of the railing. The sentry gave the human a kind smile and a nod, and then leant upon the railing near to him.

_If Wood-Elves use young human children for magic, they would act evil and look foul, would they not? _he questioned himself.

When at last the twins let go of the Prince of Eryn Galen, they led him straight to Estel. In surprise, Legolas looked down at the Adan while Elrohir introduced him. "Meet our new human brother, Silvan brother," he said with a laugh, calling Legolas his brother just as he did Estel.

The Prince smiled at him and bent at the knee so that he was level to the Adan's height, and then Legolas bowed slightly as he said with a brilliant grin, "Greetings, Estel. I am Legolas, but in this house, amongst your brothers and father, I am usually called Greenleaf."

Immediately and despite his lingering suspicion of the Silvan nabbing him for some magical rite, Estel came out from behind the post where he'd been hiding, for the Prince's cheerful smile was as welcoming and friendly as a whole stack of honeyed cakes. Unable to resist, the Adan smiled back just as widely and said, "My name is Estel."


	2. Chapter 2

He gamboled along behind the twins and their Silvan friend, his short legs barely able to keep up with their long legs' strides, until they were inside the Last Homely House and the three Elves paused. Elrohir was telling the Wood-Elf Prince, "Ada would have come to greet you, as well, but said that he expects you for the evening meal, in his study, on the terrace, as usual. He has some pressing meeting with Erestor and his other advisors right now, a meeting that we are supposed to be part of, in truth."

"Elrohir and I are shirking the meeting, as we speak, so we had best catch the end of it, if we can," the older of the twin Noldorin lords told the Prince. "Meanwhile, I know just what you wish to do," Elladan told Legolas, shoving his arm slightly in playful scorn, "and we've already had the servants on standby to bring water to your room for a bath."

Estel watched the Wood-Elf laugh, thinking that he had never seen anyone as jolly as Legolas. "You know me too well, it seems. I was hoping to have a bath as soon as possible. I smell of horse."

"You do, indeed. We could smell you before the border guard ever sent word that you were approaching," Elladan teased, causing all three Elves to laugh and Estel to wonder at the change in his brothers, for he had rarely seen them so happy.

"The servants are carting buckets of water to your room as we speak," Elrohir said with a grin. He took his twin's arm and pulled him along with him towards the hall of fire, where the council's palaver was taking place, but said over his shoulder, "We will come find you for dinner, Greenleaf!"

Legolas waved them on with another cheerful laugh and then shook his head. As nervous as Estel was to be cut to bits by the Wood-Elf and then used for magic, the thought had occurred to him that perhaps being the Silvan's friend might keep him from such a fate. "Do you know where your room is?" the young Adan asked the Prince. If he could be of help to the Wood-Elf, he might be able to befriend him.

Legolas looked behind him, and then down to Estel's short level, at hearing the human's voice. It seemed that the Prince had nearly forgotten that Estel was there, but of course, the Adan had been trying to go unnoticed, so he was actually pleased that he had been able to be so quiet that he'd been overlooked. It might serve him well should he become the focus of Legolas' magical incantations. "I think I can remember where my room is, yes, Master Human, but perhaps you can walk with me, just in case I've forgotten?"

Estel had the feeling that the Prince was teasing him, just as his Elven brothers often did. He didn't let it bother him, though, as he was quite used to it, and so he only grinned shyly at the Silvan and told him, "I have lived here for years but I still get lost."

At this, the Wood-Elf threw his head back and laughed with merriment. The Elves in Rivendell were a joyous folk but reserved in many ways. Estel had never seen any of them laugh as much as the Prince of Mirkwood, save for his brothers, perhaps. If Legolas was any indication of the temperament of the Wood-Elves in Mirkwood, then Estel determined, _The Silvan must laugh and dance and feast all the time!_

"You have lived here for years, you say?" the Prince asked. He held his hand out to gesture Estel to lead the way. "Then perchance we won't get lost."

* * *

Being from Mirkwood, where his father's underground palace and much of the populous was dependent upon the human settlement of Lake-town for wine and other foodstuffs, Legolas was accustomed to humans. However, he couldn't recall the last time that he had actually spoken to an Adan so young for any length of time. This was no normal human, however, for despite that he was clearly not an Elf, the Adan spoke and moved like the Eldar with whom he lived, though perhaps not with the same fluency and grace. He had the mannerisms of his brothers, as if he had made a point of studying the twins.

_Perhaps he has, _Legolas thought, watching the Adan as the gangly child leapt up the stairs two at a time, just as Elladan and Elrohir would do. _If he patterns himself after Elladan and Elrohir, I worry what may come of him, _the Prince jested to himself. Truly, though, he loved the Noldorin twins as he would have his own siblings, had he any to love. If there were any two Elves whom he wished were his brothers, it would be Elladan and Elrohir, so if Estel had to be reared by the Eldar, as it seemed he did, then Legolas could not have imagined a finer family for him than Elrond and his sons.

The Adan was telling Legolas a tale about the waterfall of the Bruinen, which the Prince was patiently trying to follow the telling of, such that it took Legolas a moment to notice that Estel was taking him by an oddly circuitous route, as if he wasn't actually very sure how to get to the family hall of rooms. However, Legolas imagined that since the Adan was being fostered in Elrond's house that he had been placed in the same hall as the rest of the family. It took longer than it would have taken Legolas on his own, but finally, they came to the Prince's chambers, where the Adan stopped to ask him, "This is your room, is it not?"

"It is. We have finally found it," he replied to Estel. As he opened the door to his chambers – the same set of rooms in which he stayed every time he came to Imladris, rooms that he had used since first coming to the valley with his Naneth and ones that were kept for him and him alone – he asked the Adan, "Where is your room, Estel?"

The child took a few steps across the hall and flung open the door to his own chamber, which happened to lay right across the hall from Legolas' chambers. The Prince knew the room, for it had once been where the Prince and the Noldorin twins had built their forts and played stones when they were Elflings. It had been a playroom, of sorts, filled with the kinds of toys and games that young Elflings are fond of, though now it held a bed and dresser for Estel. It also held a variety of the very same toys that Elladan, Elrohir, and Legolas had played with millennia ago when they were children as the Adan was now.

"I was given this room when I was young," Estel told him, pulling closed the door to his messy room. "Ada said I couldn't stay in a room with a balcony because I was always climbing and falling."

Legolas laughed. In fact, he could not seem to stop laughing at the precocious human. "When you were younger? How old are you, if you do not mind my asking?"

"I will be eleven years fairly soon," the Adan said with great pride, as if this was an accomplishment of which he was very proud. With his curly mop of hair bouncing around on top of his head, Estel grinned up at Legolas, telling him, "When I am fifteen, Ada says that I can go beyond the valley to hunt with Elrohir and Elladan."

_He has spent fewer years alive than I've spent years since last visiting Rivendell! _He did not say this aloud, however, for he didn't want to insult the young human. Instead, the Prince placed his bag upon the bed, intending to follow the trail of water drops on the floor to see if his bath was full, when the glint of metal stole his attention. Legolas bent down to see better the object lying under the edge of the bed. Retrieving the source of said glint, which as it turned out was a horse fashioned from pewter, the Wood-Elf said aloud, "Why, it appears as if a horse has found its way under my bed."

The Prince smiled though he tried not to laugh at the Adan child when Estel's eyes grew wide and his face became as rubicund as a ripe raspberry. _For some reason, he acts as if he is both fascinated and frightened of me._

"I'm sorry," Estel told the Prince. "I promise that I don't touch any of your belongings," the Adan apologized. To Legolas, the human seemed afraid that the Wood-Elf might thrash him. "It's just your room has a balcony, so sometimes I sneak in here to play."

Entirely unaware of the teasing lie that Elladan and Elrohir had told Estel, Legolas thought to put the child at ease by saying, "I do not care if you play in here, Estel," but thinking of the daggers and other weapons he might keep in the room, he warned the Adan, "Just so long as you stay out of this trunk." Kicking said trunk with his booted foot, the one he kept at the end of his bed for his clothes and other items that he left in the valley between stays, Legolas told Estel, "There are dangerous items in here that young boy's should not touch, lest you get hurt." When he saw that the human seemed indignant from being chastised, he added jokingly, "Or lest you be turned into a spiderling!"

Again, Estel's eyes grew until his grey irises seemed to lighten the wider they became. Without warning, the Adan fled the room, across the hall, and into his own room. With a definitive thud, his door slammed shut.

_What did I say? _the Prince asked himself, but then laughed and went about taking his bath. He would be here for months and so had plenty of time to make friends with his Noldorin brothers' new human brother.

* * *

Estel peeped out through the crack in his slightly ajar door in wait for the Prince to leave his rooms. It was not yet dinnertime, although his stomach already rumbled in anticipation for it. Estel could hear the Wood-Elf singing. The Noldor often sang. In fact, they sang so much that sometimes the Adan wished that he could plug his ears full of cotton so that he could get some sleep, for being Eldar, the Noldor loved above all else to sing at night, when young human children are most likely to be sleeping. Right now, the Wood-Elf was singing a song that Estel had never heard before. It was a song of battle and blood and Orcs and spiders, of arrows flying through the air and swords clashing against armor. It was a most violent song; Estel loved it.

Even with the Prince's door shut, the lilting timbre of Legolas' voice was mesmerizing, what with the disparity between the berceuse-like way in which he sang and the content of the song being so full of death and violence. Eventually, before the song was over, he saw his Elven brothers come down the hall. Quickly, Estel pulled his door shut so that they would not see him spying. They always seemed to catch him doing things that he ought not to be doing, it seemed, but this time, at least, they had not noticed. Elladan knocked on his door, saying, "Come, Estel. Dinnertime!"

The Adan only then realized that he hadn't washed up for dinner as was expected of him. His Elven foster father was adamant that his human son wash his face and hands before coming to the dinner table. He made few demands of the Adan but this was one that would earn Estel a lecture should he not do it. Quickly, he ran to the washbasin, threw water on his face, and grabbed a towel to pat his hands and face dry, hearing Elladan call outside again, "Estel?"

In the process of hastening through his washing up, the Adan sloshed water all down the front of his tunic, onto the table, and across the floor. "I am coming!" he told his Elven brother, hurrying so that he would not miss out on walking with the Prince and his two brothers to dinner; however, his foot slid in the water he'd spilled and the Adan slipped. With a soft cry of surprise, Estel fell onto the floor and landed on his knees. His foot struck the leg of the table and unbalanced it, which sent the washbasin, the pitcher, and the stack of towels on the table to the floor in a crash of porcelain and water.

At once, his door was flung open and his twin brothers came through, where they began worrying over him. Estel sat on his rear on the floor, rubbing his aching knees; Elladan and Elrohir began their lecture in tandem, one picking up where the other left off, while they mopped up the water with the already soaked towels.

"You never take care!" Elladan admonished as he threw one soaked towel into the basket beside the table where dirty towels were stored until a servant bore them away for washing. Elrohir went on to rebuke, "Always you are breaking things and knocking things over." As the younger twin tossed his soaked towel into the basket, the elder started again, chiding, "You are lucky that you didn't break a leg, Estel."

In their worry, the twins were lecturing the Adan instead of comforting him. Although ten years old – nearly eleven years, as he was eager to remind everyone – Estel was a child still, and having just hurt himself and now having his brothers fussing at him for making a mess was injurious to his pride. The Adan could feel the threat of tears forming in his eyes and his breathing hitched a time or two. Even though he knew that Elladan and Elrohir were fretting because they were worried that he would injure himself, it did not make it hurt any less that they lectured before they had even asked if he was all right.

"Do you know what I think, Estel?" the Prince asked the human, for he had come into the room with the twins although he had stood at the doorway until now.

Suddenly aware that he was on the verge of tears with Legolas watching, Estel sniffled a time or two and tried to blink the liquid from his eyes. He already felt silly for running away from the Prince earlier, for he had decided since that Legolas had only been teasing about turning him into a spiderling – or so he hoped.

"What do you think?" he queried in return. Legolas pushed between Elladan and Elrohir to help the human into standing and then helped him into sitting on the edge of his bed, careful to keep him away from the shards of porcelain and from slipping again in the water.

"I think if you'd wanted to go swimming, you should have just said so." Legolas stepped back, winked at the Adan, and then stomped his foot in the puddle of water that the human had made in the floor, sending the liquid flying through the air in a spray that hit both Elladan and Elrohir as they tried to pick up the broken shards of the pitcher.

Estel forgot his tears when the twins were splattered with water, for they good-naturedly cried out with nonsensical curses. "And if _we'd_ wanted to go swimming," Elladan began to complain to Legolas with Elrohir finishing, "_we_ would have just said so."

This time, when Legolas cheerfully laughed, Estel found himself giggling right along with him.

"Let's go, Estel, and leave the cleaning up to your brothers," the Wood-Elf said blithely, holding his hand out to the Adan. "We can't keep Lord Elrond waiting. And, since I'm afraid I might not remember how to find your Ada's study without help, I think I need an escort."

The twins were glaring in mock anger at the Wood-Elf, although their smiles showed their own mirth. Estel could not have known it, but the twins were pleased to see that Legolas was willing to befriend the Adan. As he slid his much smaller and smoother hand into the Silvan's stronger, larger, and callused hand, Estel decided, _Surely a Wood-Elf wouldn't be so nice to any human that he planned to use for his magic!_

The Wood-Elf was still laughing as they walked from the room. He had never seen anyone get the better of his twin brothers. The Noldorin Eldar were respectful of Elladan and Elrohir because they were the sons of the Lord of the house but Estel had never seen anyone treat his foster brothers so insolently, even if it was done playfully – well, other than Elrond, but he did not pull pranks as did the twins. He often teased them and Estel but not like this.

More importantly, Estel had never had anyone take his side against the twins. In fact, this was the very first time that Estel could remember when anyone took his side at all. Elrond always sided with Elladan and Elrohir when it came to decisions made about what Estel should be doing, learning, and playing, and when he had done something wrong, the three always seemed to have the same lecture for him. Certainly, it was a simple matter, but to the young human, who had always felt to be the lesser amongst the Elves in his foster family, having Legolas stand up for him against the twins' lecture was a novelty – and a welcome one, at that.

As he pulled Legolas along the hallway, Estel forgot the sting of his bruised knee and the cold water that drenched his leggings. He forgot about the lecture he had almost received. And for the moment, he quite forgot about the twins warning him that Legolas was a dangerous Wood-Elf to be feared by Edain children. For the first time in his short life, Estel had met someone who had chosen to spend time with him over his Elven brothers; he found himself hoping that perhaps he and the Wood-Elf could be friends, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: Although never explicitly stated in the literature (to my knowledge) that it is otherwise, it is my head-canon that although Thranduil is Sindarin, his queen was Silvan. Therefore, Legolas is part Wood-Elf/Silvan/maybe even Green-Elf. It is at least evident from the books that he had engendered their culture, if nothing else. If you do not agree, that's fine, but for the purpose of this story, it is so. This is the least of the AU in the story, I suppose, especially in the latter parts that aren't posted to this site. Thanks for reading!_

_Something weird is going on with this site. I post a chapter and it takes forever for the e-mailed link to be valid. Not sure what's going on! I tried deleting and reposting so if you got two e-mails about updates, I apologize._

* * *

After greeting Elrond, who had known and been visited by Legolas since the Wood-Elf had been an Elfling, the Prince sat at the table on the open terrace. In Elrond's massive study were tables of various statues, maps, and other items of lore, and rows upon rows of shelves housing books and scrolls. Outside the study, there ran a terrace upon which the Peredhel grew herbs for his apothecary, but there also sat a table around which Elrond's family often gathered to eat together when they desired privacy rather than the bustle of the hall of fire where most who stayed in the Last Homely House took their meals in common. It was at this table that Legolas sat with the Adan child that had led him to Elrond's study.

Estel had talked the whole way here, causing the Prince to think with delight, _If this child listens half as well as he speaks, he'll know all that Elrond knows before he reaches his majority. _As the child took up again the thread of the almost entirely one-sided conversation he'd been having with Legolas, telling the Wood-Elf about how he planned to explore the wilds when he was older, in delectation Elrond shook his head at the Prince while Estel's attention was upon his plate. The elder Elf was as amused by the Adan as was the Silvan, it seemed, and with an exasperated sigh told the child, "At least close your mouth while you chew, Estel. Legolas will be here for months. You need not say all that comes to mind the first day that you've met him or you'll have nothing to talk about by the time he leaves."

The human seemed to take this advice seriously, although Elrond was jesting. With a paternal concern that extended to the Silvan Prince, whom the Peredhel loved as one of his own, as well, Elrond watched Legolas gather food onto his plate, ensuring that the Prince was choosing enough to nourish him. Always the Noldorin Lord was careful of keeping those he loved well fed, in good health, and happy.

Once Legolas was eating and Estel had finally given up trying to talk with his mouth full, Elrond said with a knowing smile, "Why are your breeches wet, Estel, and why is it that I sent Elrohir and Elladan to find you both and yet you two arrive without them?"

Estel was stuffing hunks of bread into his mouth, occasionally pausing only to take a bite of the huge wedge of cheese on his plate – the human had ignored the vegetables and fruit that were laid out for their meal and chosen only the venison, soft bread, and sharp cheese. Matter of factly, the Adan child told his foster father, "They were being mean and so we left them behind."

The human likely could not yet hear it but Legolas had already heard the approach of the twins in question, so was not surprised when the elder of Elrond's sons complained to Estel, "We are never mean, brother dear."

His pale face turning an embarrassed pink, the young human only grinned at his foster brothers upon being caught speaking ill of them. Elrohir settled in the chair next to Legolas, alluding to Estel's breaking the water pitcher by vaguely telling Elrond, "Sorry to be late, but we had to clean up a small flood."

For his part, Elrond did not question what the twins were talking about nor why Estel thought his brothers to be mean. With another shake of his head, the Peredhel drew a ledger to him that had been sitting next to his plate; Elrond began to flip through the pages of the ledger with a studious glance at each leaf of paper and the notations and diagrams thereon. Often the Imladrian Lord would have a book with him at the dinner table, for Elrond rarely took repose when he could be working.

Across the table, Estel frowned at Elrohir, as if troubled that the Noldo would tattle on him for breaking the water pitcher, but neither twin did so, and after a moment, the human went back to eating with as much relish as before.

Legolas was contented that his Noldorin friends were no longer irritated with their human brother. He had known the Adan for only a few hours, but the Wood-Elf already felt protective of the youngster. Earlier, when Elladan and Elrohir had been fussing at the Adan, Legolas had noted the human's hitching breath and seen how Estel was nearly in tears, all of which had endeared the Adan to him, for Legolas was tenderhearted anyway, but more so for the very young and very old, for animals, and for the weak and helpless.

He watched Estel impatiently gulping water to wash down his half-chewed bread; Legolas could not help but to beam at the young Adan. He had known that Elrond had taken on a human child under his care and had expected that Elladan and Elrohir, like their father, would treat the child as one of their own family, as they were kind souls who welcomed any and all to Rivendell with open arms and warm hearts.

Now, as he listened to the two Elven brothers and human brother banter back and forth about some trivial topic that Legolas had not caught the start of and so did not understand, the Wood-Elf wondered about how easily Elrond and his sons had embraced the young human into their family. Amongst the Elves and especially in recent times, Elven children were fewer and thus more precious than children seemed to be amongst the humans. It seemed to Legolas that the Secondborn were wont to propagate as often and as quickly as possible, but the Firstborn tended to have few children and were not as eager to bring Elflings into life when there was war, strife, or perilous times at hand.

As he wondered of this, Legolas thought that perhaps he also felt defensive of Estel because the Prince had known so few Elflings in his years and had chanced only a few encounters with young humans, so he had little experience with them, except that he knew Edain children at Estel's age were less mature than Elves of similar age and because of their mortality were highly susceptible to disease and injury. Children of any race were a treasure, by Legolas' thinking, for most were still untainted by greed, war, and heartache. It was refreshing to see it in Estel.

So caught up had he been in watching with amusement as the young human stuffed himself silly with food, that Legolas had forgotten to listen to the conversation around him and so had not heard Elladan's question to him. He realized that he had let his mind wander when Elrohir poked him in the ribs to get his attention, saying, "You mustn't stare at the human, Greenleaf, even if he does eat like a pig at the trough."

To his further enjoyment, Estel laughed at his foster brother's mocking, though he did slow down in gorging on dinner. Elladan repeated his question, saying, "You've been here for almost a quarter a day and not yet been in the river. Are we going swimming tonight or was your dip in Estel's room enough? I think I would have a little more water for my swim," he said jokingly, referring to the puddle that Estel had made when breaking his water pitcher on the floor of his room.

Elrohir pushed his emptied plate away and folded his arms on the table in front of him, challenging Legolas, "I, for one, demand a rematch. Last time we raced in the river, you cheated. This time I will win, I can feel it."

Above all other exercise and activity, Legolas loved to swim. When he was very young, before his mother had died, Legolas had often come to Imladris with her, for the twins' mother Celebrian and Legolas' Naneth had been as close as sisters were; the Prince had spent many of his formative years with Elladan and Elrohir, with much of that time in the river. Indeed, his mother had often teased Legolas that he spent more time in the Loudwater than the fish. Certainly, the Silvan loved the woods and the lifesong of the trees therein, the nacreous shine of the stars at night, and the sun for making the green things grow, but the Prince had always preferred to be in the water if given the choice. Knowing this, the Noldorin twins were happy to idle the hours away in the Bruinen with their Silvan friend.

"Of course, I am going swimming tonight," he answered. Legolas drained his cup of fruit sweetened water, his thoughts already turned to the Loudwater. He swam in the Forest River in the Greenwood often enough, but the water of the Bruinen carried memories of many blissful days that he had spent as an Elfling in Rivendell, with his mother and the twins, who were like the siblings that he had never had – he did not have the same fond memories of the stark and unwelcoming forest that he called home. Legolas added as he sat his cup back on the table, "And I am more than willing to best you at another race, Elrohir. This time, I may even give you a head start so that you have a chance to win."

The day was yet young. In fact, they were having the evening meal much earlier than the Prince was accustomed to, although he imagined that this might be because of Estel. While his Noldorin family might have normally waited until nearly eventide to eat, they ate now because the human needed consistent nourishment at regular intervals, whereas the adult Elves did not. _There will be plenty of time for swimming tonight until the stars come out, _he thought with wistful longing to be in the water already, _and then we can dry on the bank and watch Tilion steer Ithil across the sky._

Estel had been paying attention to all this with adamant curiosity. He had not been invited to go swimming but Legolas would change that. "Do you know how to swim?" he asked the Adan child.

Eagerly, Estel nodded and told him, "Elladan and Elrohir taught me how to swim in the shallows."

Shaking his head as if in disappointment, Legolas commiserated with Estel, saying, "That's terrible to hear. If your twin brothers taught you to swim, it's a wonder you haven't sunk to the river bottom like a stone."

Closing his ledger shut with a snap, Elrond laughed cheerily before telling them all, "If you plan to take Estel with you, you had best be off. He ought not to be in the river after dark."

"So I can go?" the Adan asked, as if he had expected that he would not be invited. To Legolas, which told the Prince that in fact Estel thought that the Wood-Elf would be the one who would not want him to tag along, the Adan queried, "You don't mind if I join you?"

To see that the human would assume that he was not welcome because Legolas was there, as if the Prince would usurp his brothers from him, made the Wood-Elf even more eager for the human to come with them. He stood, causing Elladan and Elrohir to stand also and the Adan child to bound to his feet just a moment later.

"I should hope you will join us." As pushed his chair in, Legolas gave the human a conspiratorial wink, saying, "You can be the witness to me beating your brothers in the race, should they later fib and tell everyone that I cheated again."

Much as they had done earlier, although for very different reasons, Estel's silver eyes grew in tandem with his ever-widening smile. "I will meet you at the river," the human said as he fled the terrace to find suitable clothing for their swim.

Legolas watched the human run off and was amazed at how easily pleased the child was by merely being included. He told Elrond and the twins, "He acted as though he thought I wouldn't want him around."

"It is difficult for him to be amongst the Eldar," Elrond said as he gathered the plates upon the table to place upon the tray that a servant would eventually fetch to take to the kitchens. "Few know how to speak to him, how to endure his enthusiasm, his curiosity. They either avoid him because they find him pestersome or they patronize him, though with good intentions, because they think since he is human and young he is frail and ignorant."

"I must admit that I know little of human children, but this coming year I will learn all that I can," the Wood-Elf said as he helped the Peredhel in clearing up the table, handing the glasses over to Elladan to place next to the plates upon the salver. "Besides, if he is your son then he is my brother," he told Elrond. "Perhaps this brother won't call me a cheater," he joked to the twins.

Although the Prince did not see it, for he was busy putting the last of the plates upon the serving tray, Elladan and Elrohir were sharing an unspoken satisfaction between them. They loved the Adan as much as they loved Legolas and thought of both as family, so it was important to the Noldorin twins that the Wood-Elf and human accept each other as family, as well. Once the mess of dinner was cleared, the twins and Prince said their goodnights to Elrond, who wished them a goodnight and a good time, giving the twins a final reminder to take care of Estel.


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: Shadow, it will be a while yet, though not as long as my other fiction. Thanks everyone for reading!_

* * *

Having forgotten to take off his boots before trying to remove his trousers, the human had to yank and pull them this way and that way until finally they were free.

_I will miss all the fun, _he rued, as each task he set about completing seemed to take too long for his liking.

As quickly as he could, Estel changed into looser, lighter breeches in which he could swim without hindrance. He took off his heavy tunic and found a lighter shirt, his haste so great that he left his discarded clothes in a pile in the floor.

_I have to hurry, _he told himself as he ran from his room and into the hall.

The Adan had been listening for Legolas to go to his chambers; he hadn't heard the Wood-Elf enter his rooms and since the door was open, he could see that the Prince was not inside. Thinking that Legolas, Elladan, and Elrohir might have gone straight to the river, Estel darted around the Eldar that he passed, in his rush nearly knocking over a she-Elf, but did not think to give an apology for his mind was focused solely upon joining his brothers and their friend.

Truthfully, it was not quite the time of year for swimming – for humans, anyway. For the Eldar, the cold water would not bother them at all, but for Estel, the frigid river would end up giving him a chill, he knew, but neither the twins nor Elrond had thought of this, and even had they, Estel likely would have snuck out to join his brothers, anyway. Although everyone in the Last Homely House treated him kindly, few tried to befriend him. They were many, many years his senior, of course – even the Elflings – and so he had little in common with anyone. The same could be said of his foster brothers, as well, but they loved him as their brother and so had befriended him naturally. The Silvan Prince, Estel hoped, would be his friend, also, and since Legolas was planning to swim with the twins, he would not be left behind, not even if it meant that he might get cold in the process.

Whenever the twins went swimming, they always went to the same spot. It was to here that he ran. Stairs were carved in the living rock of the hillside so that climbing the incline to this part of the Bruinen was easy, even for someone with short legs as he had. As he ran, the Adan saw that the sun was just beginning to dwindle off in the west, though it would be at least two more hours before it set. Once set, Estel would be expected to be in his room for the night. Until then, he planned to make the most of this evening, for he very much wanted to be judge to the race that the twins and Prince were planning to have, just as Legolas promised him that he could do.

Estel crashed through a thicket of brambles, heedless of the pricks of the thorns, and waded through the towering, flowering grasses to the riverside. Legolas had not yet shown, but the twins were already shirtless and sodden, standing in the Loudwater and laughing at something. This part of the Bruinen ran wider than deeper, such that the water moved slowly before it narrowed, quickened, and eventually tumbled off the stepped rocks of the cascading waterfall further down the watercourse. For the tall twins, the water just reached their elbows, but for Estel, once he stood on the silt, the river would be up to his neck.

"Here he is!" Elrohir called upon noticing that Estel had arrived. "Get your boots off, brother, and be ready to watch me outswim a Wood-Elf."

"There is little chance of that," Elladan ribbed Elrohir as he smacked the surface of the river to send a spray of liquid onto his already drenched twin. "Whether he cheats or not, you know that Greenleaf will win."

"Of course, I will!" the laughing Prince called as he approached.

As he stepped through the thicket, the Prince was pulling off his shirt. When done, he laid it over the leafy exterior of a nearby bush for safekeeping. The Silvan was neither as tall nor as brawny as were Estel's foster brothers. Legolas wasn't skinny or undersized, by any means, but he was shorter than the twins were and though muscled, he was lithe, his body made more for climbing trees and running through forests. As Estel pulled his boots off at the river's edge, Legolas sat beside him on the bank to do the same.

Being young and unaware of how his words might cause insult – had it been someone other than the generally benevolent Prince of Mirkwood, that is – the human asked, "Does being smaller than Elladan and Elrohir make you a faster swimmer?"

Both of the Silvan's amber hued brows rose in surprise upon his forehead. The joyful Elf smiled at the young Adan, telling him, "No, they are just slow."

"We're slow?" Elladan asked as he pushed his twin such that with a laugh Elrohir fell over into the river. "We beat you here."

"Come on," Elrohir told the Adan and Wood-Elf in a sputter as he rose from the water. "Get in here, Estel. You are going to mark the end of the race as well as be the judge."

Glad to be involved, the Adan walked out into the cold water, although he immediately wondered if maybe he shouldn't have watched from the bank. But it was too late now to renege on his duty of declaring the winner of the race, so gamely he waded out until he was near the twins. Legolas followed just behind. Hiding a shiver, the human child stood in a circle with the others as they contemplated the rules of their race.

Elladan pointed down the river to a weeping willow tree that hung over the Bruinen, telling Elrohir, Legolas, and specifically Estel, so that he could ascertain that the rules were followed, "To that tree, which you must hit with your hand, and then back. First one to return to where Estel is will be the winner."

Teasing each other and laughing, the three Elves stood in an even line just in front of Estel, leaving enough space between them so that they could swim without flailing and striking each other as they did so. For a moment, the human waited quietly until Legolas turned around to remind him with a grin, "Tell us when to start, Estel."

"Go!" he shouted. At once, the three friends were on the move. Elladan had dived forward to gain ground, Elrohir had taken a few long steps before beginning to swim, but the Wood-Elf Prince stood with his hands on his hips. Thinking that Legolas had not heard him, the Adan said, "Go, Legolas!"

But the Wood-Elf turned back to the Adan, saying cheerfully, "Not yet. I am giving them a chance to win!"

At this, Estel giggled. When the twins were halfway to the tree, the Prince finally began swimming. Unlike either twin, who swam with their heads above the water, Legolas dove under the river and was out of sight. By the time that Elrohir and then Elladan had slapped the tree trunk and turned around to return to Estel, Legolas had caught up to them. He smacked the trunk and then dove back under the water, once more hidden under the waves. When Elrohir was halfway back to Estel and seemed soon to be the winner, Legolas suddenly popped up from the water only a a few feet from the Adan.

It might have been unsportsmanlike for Estel to cheer on the Silvan Prince instead of one of his own foster brothers, but the Adan had never seen anyone beat either twin at anything, and so he cheered, "Swim, Legolas! Elrohir's right behind you!"

Indeed, Elrohir was swimming as fast as he could, especially now that he saw the Prince was in front of him. With his arms and legs kicking and thrashing at the river in a commotion of smacking sounds and great ripples of water, the younger twin seemed determined to win. Although Elrohir was just behind him, Legolas stopped swimming. The Wood-Elf turned to look at Elrohir to mock good-naturedly, "Your old age is showing; I even gave you a head start!"

And then, the Silvan was under the river's veneer again. For the life of him, Estel could not find the Prince in the water. Once he dropped beneath the surface of the river, Legolas had seemingly disappeared. Just as Elrohir was about to reach out to Estel to declare himself the winner, the Prince popped up from the river just in front of the Noldo, which caused Elrohir to fall back in surprise, where he fell into the water with an oomph of shock that was soon drowned out when Elrohir's head went under the surface.

Elladan had finally caught up, having not been trying very hard to win – or so it seemed to Estel. With a snigger, the elder twin pushed Elrohir's head back in the river when Elrohir tried to rise from the water. "You should have been an otter, Greenleaf," Elladan teased.

Now that the race was over, Estel waded back out of the river. Try though he might, Estel could not stop shivering. Even with the fading sun shining down upon him, he was chilled. As he sat upon the bank, smiling in pleasure despite being cold, he watched Elrohir, Elladan, and Legolas as they tried to drown each other in the river. He had never seen his twin foster brothers act like Elflings, but around the Wood-Elf Prince, the twins felt that they could be as silly as they would have been when the three longtime friends were younger.

When Legolas pulled himself onto the bank, flopping down upon his back in a fit of laughter at Elrohir and Elladan, the human tried to quell his quivering flesh so that no one would notice that he was cold. The last thing that he wanted was for his foster brothers to send him back to the house to warm himself.

"What do you think, Estel?" the Prince asked jovially as he crawled to his knees and then to his feet. Coming to stand and then to sit next to the Adan, Legolas continued, "Did I cheat or are your brothers just old and slow?"

He considered the question earnestly. He was loath to accuse the Silvan of cheating, although clearly, he had disrupted Elrohir's swimming by jumping up in front of him, but Legolas had not needed to cheat to win, as fast as he could swim. In the interest of not upsetting his new friend, he told the Prince, "Both, I think."

At this, Legolas threw his head back and laughed heartily, drawing the attention of the twins in the water, who were now paddling closer to the shore. "It's not fair, Greenleaf!" the younger twin shouted to them, while the elder twin agreed, "I think you have hidden fins and gills somewhere!"

The Wood-Elf and human sat on the bank for a while in companionable silence while the Noldorin twins continued to swim for a while longer, until Elladan told them, "Let us go fling ourselves off the ledge."

Closer to the falls, but not close enough to be dangerous, there was a small rock ledge on the riverbank on one side, instead of the grassy bank that ran along most of the river. It stood only as tall as one of the Elves, but there the river was deeper and ran swifter than the shallows here where they swam now. The Adan had never been allowed to swim there before. Not wanting to be thought of as a baby, Estel did not bring this up as they all began to walk along the shore the short distance to the rapids. The night was nearly upon them now. Since he was with his foster brothers, his Ada would not be too upset that he was not in his rooms, but Estel was not often outside the house after dark. Of all places in Middle Earth, Imladris was one of the safest there was, but for a young Adan with little experience outside the valley, Estel found danger in every shadow and he was more than a little spooked.

_I don't want to leave, but there is no chance I am jumping, _he decided.

Legolas and Elrohir were already climbing the overhang, laughing and jesting as they did so, while Elladan stayed behind with Estel. He told the Adan with a teasing smile, "Legolas is a fairly pleasant Elf, is he not?" Before Estel could answer, Elladan was whispering, "Well, nice enough anyway, leastways for an Elf who uses the toes from young human boys for his sorcery. How else do you think he can swim so fast?"

Dumbstruck, for the Adan had begun to think that his brothers had been teasing him and thus had mostly put out of mind the strange story that the twins had earlier told him, Estel swallowed thickly and turned to look at where Legolas was leaping off the ledge into the water. Intentionally, the Silvan did not dive gracefully but rolled himself into a tight ball so that he struck the water with a great splash. _They must be joshing me, _the Adan told himself. And yet, Estel had heard of and seen Elven magic for himself and he already knew about the great magical doors that guarded the Elf-King's underground palace in Mirkwood, so he also knew that the Wood-Elves had magic of their own, even if it was not as potent as that of Elrond or the Lady Galadriel.

In a murmur, for Legolas was swimming back to the bank to watch Elrohir make his own leap from the ledge and the elder twin did not want the Prince to overhear, he told Estel, "Toes for speed, fingers for dexterity, and –"

Whatever Elladan had been about to tell the human was cut off when a chuckling Legolas came to shore, shouting out to Elrohir, "Go on then! See if you can make a bigger splash!"

Giving his human foster brother a meaningful look, Elladan whispered to Estel, "Don't give him the chance to lop off any bits."

With that, Elladan left to climb the embankment to reach the ledge just as Elrohir leapt, doing as had Legolas in rolling his body into a ball to make a great splash in the water. He and the Wood-Elf watched this, with the Prince calling out to Elrohir, "Well done. You finally beat me at something."

Estel watched his laughing brothers and the Silvan, his unease at Elladan's admonishment growing as he thought of how adept the Wood-Elf had been in swimming. He'd never seen an Elf move that well in the water. To Estel's juvenile mind, it very well could have been sorcery that caused the Wood-Elf to be so fast swimmer.

Legolas was standing beside him, now, with an easy smile upon his face. "Will you jump from the ledge?" the Silvan asked him.

Slowly, the human backed away from the Elf, though he tried not to let on that he was afraid. Forgetting that he did not want to jump from the ledge, the Adan thought instead of how to reach one of his twin brothers, and since Elrohir was in the water, Estel decided to go to Elladan instead, who was at the top of the ledge waiting for Elrohir to move from the way so that he wouldn't accidentally hit his brother when he jumped.

As he began the climb to the ledge, Estel turned to look at the Prince to ascertain that Legolas was not following him. The Prince was watching the Adan with a mildly befuddled, albeit entertained smile.

"Are you jumping?" Elladan asked with surprise. "Go on then, you can go before me. Elrohir is on the shore now."

Once at the top of the small overhang, the human stood there in indecision while Elladan waited impatiently.

"What's the matter?" Elrohir asked. Without the Adan's noticing it, the younger Noldo had climbed up the ledge at seeing the human dithering on the edge. "Jump, Estel. You'll enjoy it."

He could either throw himself off the ledge and hope he didn't drown in the rapids or he could climb back down to where the Prince was watching him with a strangely keen look upon his face. _If I don't jump, Legolas will think I'm a baby, _he lamented as he looked down the relatively short distance to the water underneath. Given that Estel was quite sure that the Silvan Prince was only being nice to lure him into complacency so that he could harvest a few fingers and toes, Estel was not sure why he cared whether the Prince thought him a baby or not.

However, in the end, the choice was taken from him. Behind him, his mischievous twin foster brothers had grown tired of watching the Adan vacillate about whether to leap. Each of them taking hold of the Adan under his arms, one twin per arm, they lifted and swung the unsuspecting and unprepared human out over the ledge, letting go to drop him neatly into the briskly moving river below.


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: Enjoy!_

* * *

He was utterly unprepared, being that his twin foster brothers had taken it upon themselves to cast him into the algid water, and so Estel thrashed his arms and legs while flying the short distance through the air. When the Adan hit the cold water of the river, all the air fled his lungs in a great whoosh, and when he hit the surface of the river back first, he landed with a loud smack. While it wasn't terribly painful, his back, arms, and legs stung from the sudden impact, as well, and the surprise of this drove from his mind all that he had learnt about how to swim. His muscles seemed to seize, his lungs tightened, and his mind went blank. It was only chance that he pulled in a deep breath before going under the surface of the river, for his great inhale had been taken with the intent of letting loose a great screech. He never got the chance to scream, though, because once he was under the water, instinct made him close his mouth to hold in his breath.

For a brief moment, he bobbed back up, his head breaking the river's veneer, and he managed to take in another breath. _Help me, _he thought to his brothers but was unable to say. In that transitory instant of being above the surface, Estel could see the twins upon the ledge, laughing at the joke they had pulled on him; he could see Legolas, too, who was also chuckling at the Adan. He knew that his brothers had not thrown him in spitefully, but rather as joke, so he decided as his head went back under the surface, _Surely they will jump in now so that I don't drown!_

He opened his eyes under the water in hopes of finding his way to the top of the river, but with the sun now set, the water was dark without the sun to light the surface. Estel could not tell up from down. Ignorant of which way to try to go, Estel twisted about uselessly, the air in his lungs growing scarce, until he began to sink like a stone to the riverbed.

* * *

Legolas laughed right along with the Noldor in watching the Adan's surprise as he flew through the air. It wasn't until Estel's head broke free and the Prince saw the terror upon the human's face that he thought, _Didn't Estel tell me that he hadn't yet learnt to swim in the rapids? Though this is hardly the rapids, perhaps he isn't even as proficient at swimming as he claimed._

If the Adan had only calmed, he would have been able to swim easily enough. The water did not run so swiftly that it was dragging him quickly down the watercourse towards the falls, nor was it so choppy that it was pulling the child under. No, it was Estel's panic that kept him from employing the lessons he'd been taught in swimming. To Legolas, it seemed that the human wasn't even trying to paddle.

_He is in a dead panic, _the Prince thought with sudden worry. _He must have sunk to the bottom!_

"Is he alright?" he called up to the Noldorin twins who still stood upon the ledge. They had ceased snickering and were watching the river with mild concern for the unseen Adan. As Legolas had thought, so thought the twins – Estel should have easily been able to swim in this part of the river.

"He should have come up by now. It's like he isn't even trying to swim," the elder twin commented, echoing Legolas' earlier thoughts, while the younger one shouted out, "Estel! Brother, just swim!"

When after several more moments the Adan still did not surface, Legolas waited no longer. Truly, he was the fastest swimmer between them, and besides, being that they stood on the ledge and would have to either climb down and leap in or dive in from the ledge, the twins might have hit the human child should they dive in from the ledge, which could injure Estel or the twin trying to save him, and Legolas did not want to wait long enough for either twin to climb down before someone tried to help the child.

And so, without a second thought, the Wood-Elf bounded off the bank and into the river. Although it was dark out, as an Elf he needed only the moonlight to see under the relatively clear water of the Bruinen. Even still, the Adan had been wearing dark clothes, had dark hair, and was not in the same place as where he had entered the river. Legolas had thought he would be able to find the child immediately but unfortunately, he did not. He could hear the twins shouting from above the river's veneer, calling both the Adan's name and the Silvan's name, for they could see neither in the Loudwater.

_Where has he gone?_ the concerned Elf deliberated, moving through the water in sleek, rapid darts. Further down the river he swam, towards the inevitable falls, although currently they were nowhere near close enough for Estel or the Prince to be in danger – that is, if he found Estel in time.

Sightlessly, Legolas reached out with his hands to feel for the human that he feared he might pass up because he could not see him. Finally, his hand lit upon what felt like hair. Legolas grabbed hold of the Adan's curly mop in a tight grip, lest he lose Estel and then be forced to hunt for him again. He did not want to chance not being able to find the human another time because it might then be too late. Although the Firstborn could hold their breath longer than the Secondborn, the sharp pang of needing to breathe was upon Legolas, which to the Prince evinced that the human must be starving for air. By the hair of Estel's head, the Wood-Elf yanked the child up towards the scant moonlight that played upon the river's rippling surface. He broke first, inhaling huge gulps of air, while dragging Estel ever upwards.

Once Estel's head was above the water, Legolas could see that the child was still conscious, at least, although his bright, silver eyes were vacant of understanding – they held only fright. Legolas released the Adan's hair and tried to grab onto his arm so that he wouldn't be hurting the child as he took him to shore, but the moment after the Adan drew in a breath, he began to thrash once more.

"Calm, Estel!" the Prince shouted at him in hopes that Estel could hear over the sounds the human was making in slapping the water in his efforts to save himself.

But Estel did not calm. Legolas thought that the child was threshing the water because he did not yet know he was saved and so was finally trying to swim, or perhaps Estel didn't know who or what had him and fought because he feared he was in danger. Regardless, Legolas was not about to let go of the human.

The child was looking right at the Wood-Elf, causing Legolas to hope that he would pay attention when he tried again, saying, "Estel, stop, please. Let me take you to –"

The Prince's words were cut short when the young human's elbow struck him in the face, across the bridge of his nose and on his left eye. Instinctively, Legolas let go of the human to grab at the abrupt, intense pain in his eye, while with his other hand he paddled to remain afloat.

"Greenleaf!" came a harried shout to the side.

Legolas looked through his uncovered, unhurt eye to where the twins were running towards them, though they were still on the shore. At once, the Wood-Elf noticed that he and the Adan were far beyond the ledge from which they had been jumping, which meant that they were even closer to where the Bruinen truly began to pick up pace, where it would begin its rapid descent down the incline towards the dangerous falls.

The twins were now wading out into the river but as they moved, Elladan was shouting, "Grab him, Greenleaf!"

The Prince forgot about his throbbing face and eye and instead turned to where he thought Estel would still be – that is, right in front of him. Instead, the still fighting, still threshing human was being carried along the current of the river and had already floated beyond Legolas' reach. At once, the Wood-Elf was back under the water, his body moving like a serpent as he sped towards the Adan. This time he had no trouble keeping his hold of the human, for this time, Legolas grabbed Estel by the collar of his shirt and pulled him to shore by it so that he could avoid the child's flailing limbs. The cloth of the shirt began to rip but Legolas only swam faster, hoping that he was not choking Estel in the process.

By the time that Legolas' knees were upon the grassy bank, the twins were already back on the shore, at ready to grab the Adan. His chest heaving for air, his nose running blood, and his eyes watering from both the sting of the river water and the blow he'd taken, Legolas gracelessly flopped to the ground. He pushed his damp hair from his face and watched as the twins hovered over their human foster brother.

"Sweet Eru," Elladan was telling them all as he dropped to his knees beside the human to check him over. "I thought we had lost you, Estel."

"If Legolas hadn't jumped in when he did, you would still be at the river's bottom!" Elrohir added as he hugged the human child to him, only for Elladan to follow suit just a moment later.

With his brothers now around him, Estel had stopped fighting, at least, although from his face he was still beside himself with terror. Even though he was now out of the water, he stared at Legolas as if the Wood-Elf would throw him back in to drown him. Being that the Silvan Prince had just rescued the child from the river, Legolas was flummoxed as to what he'd done to cause the Adan to fear him so greatly.

_He wasn't trying to swim; he was trying to fight me off the whole time I was trying to save him, _the bewildered Prince decided. _What is going on here?_

* * *

They walked back up the shore to where their boots and clothes were, with Estel being hugged and fussed over by the twins in turns. When they finally let him loose, Estel sat on the grass and shivered as if it were winter instead of spring. At seeing this, Legolas stood, grabbed his shirt from the bush where he'd laid it, and handed it to the twins, who gratefully removed their foster brother's sodden shirt and replaced it with the Silvan's dry shirt. Neither twin had worn their tunics to the river, else they would have wrapped the child in those, as well. Elladan and Elrohir were murmuring and comforting him but the Adan was not listening to their words; the tones of their voices were soothing, however.

When Legolas began to sniffle, the twins stopped fretting over Estel and turned to the Prince to see that Legolas' nose had not stopped pouring blood. Estel sat there quietly with the Wood-Elf's shirt swallowing him in its soft, warm folds, while the twins began to bother over the Silvan, instead. He was glad not to be the center of attention anymore. He couldn't decide whether to feel ashamed for hitting the Silvan, gratitude for the Prince having saved him, or anger at the twins for fooling him about Wood-Elves.

"It's our fault," Elrohir was explicating to the Prince.

Elladan had ripped off a piece of the human's undershirt, soaked though it was, and was holding it to Legolas' face, where the blood was running freely from the Prince's nose. Already, the flesh around the Silvan's left eye, the bridge of his nose, and his left cheekbone were swelling and darkening a reddish color from the blow that Estel had given him with his elbow.

With an amused smile, the Prince pushed Elladan's hand away and held the cloth up to his face on his own, telling Elrohir, "Of course it is your fault. You two threw him into the river! You startled him so badly that he forgot to swim."

"No, no. we mean that it is our fault that he fought you the whole time you tried to save him." Elladan was shaking his head, deploring how their silly joke had hurt Legolas and almost cost them their Adan brother. He turned to look at Estel; seeing that the human was fine for the moment, the elder Noldo told his Woodland friend, "Elrohir and I were teasing Estel today, before you arrived and again before we threw him off the ledge. We told him that Wood-Elves used bits and pieces of human children for their magic. I suppose we never thought it would cause this much trouble."

In the dark of the night, with only the moon shining down through the boughs of the trees, Estel saw that his twin brothers' faces were as pale as Ithil's light. They had played many pranks on him but never had one turned out so poorly.

To the human, Elrohir apologized, saying, "We're sorry, Estel. We were just having a bit of fun. We never considered you would react so violently towards Greenleaf being near, but it is our fault for being so thoughtless."

"And we should not have thrown you in the water," Elladan added. His two brothers were truly sorry, this much he could tell.

Estel didn't realize just how close he had come to drowning or how close he had drifted to the true rapids of the river, and so thought they were being overzealous in their apologies. And yet, they had made him look like a fool in front of the Prince, who he had hit because of their telling him that Legolas was dangerous, and now he had likely ruined his chances of making friends with the Prince. Snuggling the borrowed shirt more tightly about him, Estel buried his cold nose in the soft fabric, wondering how the Wood-Elf's clothing smelled of pine needles and bergamot. His own clothing only ever smelled of mud and horse.

"It's alright, I suppose," he told his foster brothers. They smiled at him in thanks for his acceptance of their apology and the Adan couldn't help but to smile back, although he told them in a bit of impish bribery, "But now I'm cold. I think I'll need warm milk and some honeyed cakes before bed."

The three Elves laughed at the human – even Legolas, Estel was glad to see. "Fair enough, little brother," Elrohir agreed, affectionately threading his fingers through the long curls atop the human's head.

"It is part your bedtime, actually," the elder twin told his human brother, and then took his own turn in ruffling the human's hair.

"Speaking of bedtime, Lord Elrond will be wondering where his sons are, especially his youngest," Legolas told them as he gazed out to the dark sky, where the sliver of the moon hung like a sickle amidst a field of blooming stars. "We should be heading back to the house to get Estel warm."

Although he'd started to feel better, at the reminder that he would have to explain to his Ada why he was late in going to bed, why he was shivering with cold, and why he had struck the Silvan Prince in the face, Estel felt his good cheer dissolve into anxiety again. Elrond had certainly never struck the human child, had never disciplined him beyond a scolding, and rarely ever raised his voice to Estel; however, none of that was necessary because the mere suggestion that the Elf Lord was disappointed with him was enough to cause the Adan to want to cry.

_Ada will be very disappointed in me tonight, _he agonized. _Once he sees Legolas' bleeding nose, I'll have to stay in my room for a week! Which means I won't get to go with Legolas and the twins for a whole week! _Now that he knew that the twins had been teasing him about Wood-Elves, Estel once more wanted only for the Silvan to be his friend – that is, if the Prince hadn't now decided he was nothing but a pestersome child.

Elladan pulled Estel to his feet with a sigh, saying, "Yes, brothers, let's get this lecture over and done with, shall we?"

"We have milk to warm and honeyed cakes to eat," Elrohir agreed as he began off down the path.

Elrohir walked ahead of them and Elladan behind, with Estel in front of the Wood-Elf between the two Noldor. _I ought to say sorry, _he advised himself. He had hoped to be the Prince's friend, but bloodying the Wood-Elf's nose was not the best way to go about it.

He slowed so that he was walking beside the Prince. The cheery Wood-Elf did not seem angered at all, and in fact, smiled merrily at the human. "Are you well, Estel?" he asked the Adan.

"I'm fine. I only wanted to say that I'm sorry." Not paying attention to where he was going, the human nearly stumbled over a rock, for in the dark, in the shadow of the canopy of tree limbs overhead, he could barely see the path.

Surprisingly, Legolas laughed. He did not seem to be laughing at Estel almost falling, though, but rather, Legolas seemed amused that Estel was apologizing. "Think nothing of it. I have had a bloodied nose before. The bruise that will follow will fade, the swelling will lessen, and no permanent harm is done. I am only glad that I found you in the water! I would much rather have a bloody nose than have a friend go missing in the Bruinen."

He wrapped the Prince's shirt more tightly around himself. His soaked pants were letting water run into his boots, which caused his feet to squelch with every step. His chest hurt from having held his breath for so longer under the river. His elbow even hurt from where he'd struck the Prince with it. All of this discomfort he promptly forgot at hearing the Wood-Elf call him friend.

"You mean that you aren't mad that I hit you? I wasn't trying to hit you, really," he prevaricated. Stepping around another rock, Estel explained, "I mean – I was trying to get away from you, not hurt you. Not really."

Legolas put his hand on the Adan's shoulder. No longer afraid of the Wood-Elf, Estel did not flinch away from the Prince's touch this time. "Your apology is accepted. No, I am not mad in the least. But I'm glad you know the truth now about your brothers' lark."

They walked that way for a while longer, with Legolas' hand companionably on the now beaming human's shoulder, until they were back at the Last Homely House and the human remembered that he now had to face his foster father. He told the Prince quietly, "Ada will be mad at me, even if you aren't."

In a conspiratorial whisper that the Prince knew the pleased twin Noldor could hear, even if they pretended not to be listening, Legolas shared with the Adan, "Do not worry, Estel. Your Ada will not be mad at you, either. Elladan and Elrohir will be receiving the lecture tonight!"


End file.
